Camaraderie must continue

England captain Chris Robshaw hopes the camaraderie between players and supporters continues in the wake of the recent incident involving wing Chris Ashton.

Ashton was attacked with a glass during a night out with his girlfriend and Saracens teammates. Robshaw condemned the incident but said it is important that interaction between players and fans does not wane.

"What people love about rugby is that they can still see you after a game having a drink with some mates, or going out for dinner," said Robshaw.

"As soon as you lose that touch and isolate the players, it wouldn't be great for the game.

“I think that as rugby players we need to be seen and that's what people love about the sport.

"The amount of people who get pleasure from having the odd interaction with players from time to time, in the street or in a restaurant or in a pub, far outweighs the odd bad incident," said Robshaw.

Speaking at the launch of England's new home kit, Robshaw added: "As rugby players, we need to be seen and that's what people love about the sport, and players love that they can still go out and enjoy themselves.

"You don't want to be locked away at home and told you can't go out with your friends or your girlfriend, that you can't go to the theatre or wherever because someone might do something."  

Ashton broke the news on Twitter, tweeting:  "Some bloke decided to spoil an evening out for me and my missus. No stitches needed."

Saracens in a statement explained what had happened and praised Ashton for showing restraint.

"Several Saracens players, together with their wives and girlfriends, were enjoying a quiet evening when an uninvited stranger approached the group," read the statement.

"A brief altercation occurred, which resulted in a friend of this stranger attacking Chris Ashton with a glass. The Saracens winger suffered two minor cuts on the left side of his face, but neither required stitches."